Rubber-disk attacher for bottle-stoppers.



^ T. B. ALcoBN B B. L. lGHATBIBLB.

, BUBBBB DISK ATTAGBBB. B0B BOTTLE sTBPBBs.

` APPuLIOATION FILED JULY 19, 1902.'

JNO MODEL.

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UNITED STATES iatented May '19, 190e.

PATENT. OFFICE.

THEODORE H. ALCORN, OF KANSAS CITY, AND EARL L. vCI-IA'IFIEL'D,OF

MOUNT WASHINGTON, MISSOURI.

RUBBER-DISK ATTACNHERwr-'OR BoTTLE-sToPPERs.

SPECIFICATION forming part 0f Letters Patent No. 728,351, dated May 19,1903.

` Application filed July 19, 1902. Serial No. 118,298. No model.)

FIELD, residing at Mount Washington, in theA county of Jackson and Stateof Missouri, citizens of the United States,.have invented cer-y tain newand useful Improvements in Rubber-Disk Attachers for BottlefStoppers, ofwhich the following is a specification.v -f

This invention relates to rubber-disk attachers for bottle-Stoppers; andour object is to produce means for disposing the disks in place easilyand quickly without injuring them. Y

To this end the invention consists in certain novel and peculiarfeatures of construction and combinations of parts, as hereinafterdescribed and claimed, and in order that it maybe fully understoodreference -is to be had to theV accompanying drawings, in which- Figure1 is afperspective view showing the attacher as arranged'for disposing arubber disk upon a porcelain bottle-stopper. Fig. 2 is a horizontalsection of the same'. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same. Fig. 4is an inverted plan view of part of the split barrelclamp.

Referring no w to the drawings in detail, 1 designates a base-plate,Apreferably of cast met-al and providedwith anv arm 2. In practice theplate is preferably secured to van upright with its arm lprojectinghorizontally; but it may be secured upon a table with said armprojecting vertically upward. In opposite sides of the arm near the baseare cavi-I ties 3, and extending through the outer end of the arm atright angles to said cavities is a pivot 4, upon which is mounted themembers 5 of a clamp, thejaws of theclamp-being semicylindrical incross-section in order to form a tube or barrel when closed. The bore ofthis tube or barrel is by preference conical, as shown at 6, and isformed at one side (its lower side when arranged horizontally) with aslot 8, formed by cutting away the edges of the jaws, as at 7, theobject of this slot being to enable the spreader, hereinafter referredto, to be more readily dislodged when necessary. The bore is sharplychoked at its front end, as at 8, to insure close connection with whollyor partially entering the barrel-clamp with the spreader. e

9 designates a pair of coil-springs which engage the cavities Sat theirinner ends and at their outer ends sockets 10 of the handle ends of theclamp and tend to hold the jaws of the :latter together.- A

11 designates a pair of intersecting levers pivoted to boss 12 of platel and constituting a pair of pincers, the jaws 13 of the same beingprovided with recesses 14 to engage the outer sides of the handle endsof the clamp members. The handle ends of the pincers are connected by acord or other iexi ble connection 15, and this is connected in turn by acord 16 with a foot-lever or treadle 17, pivoted to 'work vertically ina bracket 18, secured to a'wall or other support, the arrangement beingsuch that foot-pressure on the lever or treadle operates the pincersagainst the resistance of springs 9 and opens the jaws to enable thespreader, presently described, to drop or be drawn out ofthe clamp.

f It drops out through slot 8 when the clamp occupies a horizontalrposition and is withdrawn when the clamp is arranged vertically.

The spreader 19. is of conical form and dished at its base,V as at 20,and is forced partly through the rubber disk, as at 2l, the latter beingrst lubricated for easyimovement on the spreader by being dipped-inWater. The spreader is then forced into the barrel-clamp until the diskcomes in contact with the end of the barrel, as shown in Fig. 1.

When it is desired to equip a porcelain stopper, as at 22, with a rubberdisk, the' attenuated end of said stopper beyond and of greater diameterthan the groovedportionzis fitted inthe dished end of the spreader, andthen sufficient pressure is brought to bear. upon the stopper to forcethe spreader into the clamp until the rubber disk registers with andsnaps into the groove of the stopper, this action being renderedpositive and reliable because the close t between the spreader andchoked end of the barrel prevents the disk from getting pinched betweenthem, and consequentlyinvariably eects its proper deposit IOO on thestopper. Immediately after this takes place the equipped stopper isthrown aside, and by depressing the lever or treadle, and therebythrowing the jaws apart, the spreader is permitted to drop down throughslot Sinto the operators hand or upon the workbench.

In Fig. 3 is shown an ordinary wire stopper 24, the same being providedwith a head 25 at one end and a smaller enlargement 26 a slight distancefrom said head, so as to provide a space between them to receive arubber disk. l/Vith this type of stopper, it is preferable to use aspreader, as at 27, provided with a slot 28 and a hole 29,1eading fromits base to said slot, the base being of coursedishedorconcaved,ashereinbefore explained. Upon this spreader the diskis placed in the manner already explained, and then the spreader isinserted in the clamp. The free end of the wire stopper is then slippedthrough the hole 29 in the base and through the registering slots 28 and8 or, if no slot 8 is provided, through the space between the jaws, asthe latter will be forced apart some distance by the insertion of thespreader. The stopper is then manipulated in such a manner that theenlargement 26 ts snugly in the dished portion or cavity 2O of thespreader, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The op erator then bymeans of the butt-end of an awl or other equivalent tool forces thespreader inwardly between the jaws until the disk is forced beyond theend of the spreader and snaps upon the wire stopper between its head 25and enlargement 26. The spreader may then be withdrawn by pullingoutward on the stopper, or the stopper may be first withdrawn and thespreader withdrawn by slipping the small end of the tool through theslot 28, or it may be removed by opening the clamp in the mannerpreviously described.

The above-described manner of equipping the wire stopper with the rubberdisk is the preferred one; but it may also be equipped by slipping thedisk over the head 25 through the medium ot' a clamp and a spreader ofproper proportions, as will be readily understood.

Heretofore all devices for attaching rubber disks to Stoppers of thetypes shown have usually been instruments which were inserted `in theholes of the disks, stretching the latter and slipping them upon theStoppers, which operation was frequently attended byinjury to the disks.

By the use of our spreaders the disks can be attached to the stopperswith the danger of tearing the former practically eliminated, and suchoperation can also be performed much more expeditiously than in the oldway.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A rubber-disk attacher for bottle-stoppers, comprising a splittubular clamp, and a disk-carrying spreader to be forced into said clampuntil the latter pushes the disk olf the end of the spreader onto thestopper.

2. A rubber-disk attacher for bottle-stoppers, comprising a splittubular clamp, and a disk-carrying spreader to engage the clamp andprovided with a dished or recessed base.

3. A rubber-disk attacher for bottle-stoppers, comprising a splittubular clamp, and a disk-carrying spreader, provided with a slot andhole opening from said slot through its base.

4. A rubber-disk attacher for bottle-stoppers, comprising asplit tubularclamp, adiskcarrying spreader to be forced into the clamp, and means tomove the jaws of the clamp apart to efect the extraction of thespreader.

5. A rubber-disk attacher for bottle-stoppers, comprising a splittubular clamp, composed of two members. pivoted together and having theinner faces of one end of said members recessed, the front end of therecesses being segmental and of smaller diameter than the body portionsthereof, said recesses conjointly constituting a bore having its frontend choked, springs for holding the jaws pressed yieldingly toward eachother, and a disk carrying spreader, circular in cross-section, to beforced into the clamp until the ends of said jaws push the disk off theend ot the spreader onto the stopper.

6. A rubber-disk attacher for bottle-stoppers, comprising an arm, atubular clamp consisting of two members pivoted together and to saidarm, springs bearing at their opposite ends against said arm and thehandle ends of said clamp members, pincers engaging said handle ends,and a foot-lever or treadle connected to the pincers to operate the sameand thereby open the clamp.

7. In a rubberdisk attacher for bottlestoppers, a split barrel-clamphaving its jaws pressed yieldingly together and the bore of its jawschoked or contracted at its front end.

8. In a rubber-disk attacher for bottlestoppers, the combination of asplit barrelclamp having the front end of its bore choked or contracted,and a conical disk-carrying spreader to be forced like a wedge into saidsplit barrel-clamp.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of twowitnesses.

THEODORE I'I. ALCORN. EARL L. CI-IATFIELD. lVitnesses:

H. C. RoDGEns, G. Y. TI-IoRPE.

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